DECEMBER is obviously a time to take stock and look back over the year's events and think about what is in prospect for the year ahead.

2007 has undoubtedly been a watershed year for Scotland with the SNP coming to power and shaking up the status quo.

For business the latter half of the year has been extremely unnerving as the fallout from the US subprime scandal created a credit crunch.

Every day we hear more disturbing facts about what happened in the US. It is just extraordinary what went on and even more amazing that bluechip banks were willing to provide the funding for this albeit a long way from the heart of the action.

Hopefully next year we will see confidence returning to the market as the funders lick their wounds and start to get back on track, but it is not going to be an easy year.

A big concern for us all is the huge rise in the price of oil which will push up costs for all companies. Although it is good news for Scotland's burgeoning oil and gas industry it is a harsh penalty for Scottish firms who have to transport their goods to customers in distant parts of the UK and beyond.

However despite all of this the Scottish economy has managed to stay stable with job creation continuing and unemployment staying low.

Over the coming months we will see whether the SNP can make a difference to economic development in Scotland with major changes in the pipeline at the Scottish Enterprise network.

Its new economic strategy document contained the usual stuff about addressing low levels of R and D, focusing on school education, the development of internationally competitive firms, better regulation for businesses, etc, etc.

Nothing wrong with that but it would have been good to see some fresh ideas apart from the SNP's welcome initiative to remove or reduce business rates for a number of small businesses.

However there may be things in the pipeline which have not been announced and hopefully we will see them emerging in the coming months.

Last month Miller Group hit the headlines when a substantial group of shareholders at the privately owned housebuilding, construction and development company put forward the prospect of selling it so they could realise their assets.

A number of those shareholders do not live in Scotland and the implications of the sale of one of the country's biggest and most successful companies is understandably not a matter of concern for them. They just want to make the most of their inheritance.

But it once again raises an important issue for Scotland - the problem of our diminishing list of large Scottish headquartered companies.

Scotland is lucky to have companies like Baxters and Walkers where the family proprieters are determined to keep ownership north of the border.

Keith Miller has been determined to do the same but, as the last member of the family working in the business, his is more vulnerable than Baxters and Walkers.

Perhaps more companies whose owners want to ensure that their headquarters remain in Scotland should remind themselves of the success of whisky distilling group Edrington.

Edrington operates like any other large private blue chip company but it is largely controlled by a trust.

The company whose origins go back to the 1850s stayed in family ownership for more than 100 years when the three Robertson sisters decided to ensure the long-term future of the company by handing it over to a charitable trust. The Robertson Trust now largely controls Edrington - all but guaranteeing the company against takeover.

The trust also donates all its dividends to charity providing millions of pounds for good causes.

Of course Edrington is very much an exception but certainly one well worth thinking about.